The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1887-02-02
bis voice heard IN the confusion-a confusion

-ne saio nurrledly, lnen tnaS IelloW was
there all the timer
u reckon" returned his companion, *he
stopped five minutes to cover the driver with
his double BARREL until the two other men
got off with the treasure"
1.-THE two othersl" gasped Hale. "Then
there were only three men, and we slx"
The man shrugged his shouldera The pas
senger who had given up the greenbacks
drawled, with slow, irritating tolerance,
II reckon you're stranger hereT
II am-to this sort Of thing, certainly,
though I live dozen miles from here, at Es-
gls's Court" returned Hale scornfully.
"Then you're the chap that's dcin' that
fancy ranchin' over at Eagle's," continued
the man lazily.
aWhatever Pm doing al Eagles Court I'm
not ashamed of IT," said Hale tartly; land
that's more than can say of what I've done
-or haven't done-to-night I've been one Of
six men overawetl and robbed by three"
"As to the overawin', ed you call it-meb-
be you know more about it than us As to
the robbin'-ee far as kin remember, you
haven't onloaded much Ef you're talldn'
about what oughter've been done, III tell you
what could have happened P'r'aps ye no
ticed that when he pulled up nsade kind
of grab for my Weeping behind mel"
II did; and you weren't quick enough"
said Hale shortly.
II wasn't quick enough, and that saved
you For ef I got that pistol out and IN dght
o that man that held the gun ~
swell" said Hale impatiently, "hsd have
hssitated-D
"He'd hev blown you with both barrels
outer the window, and that before I'd got
half cock on my revolver"
"But that would have been only one man
gone, and there would have been five Of you
left,n said Hale haughtily.
"That might have been ef you'd contracted
10 take the hull charge of two handfuls Of
buckshot and slugs; but ez one-eighth Of that
amount would have done your business, and
yet left enough to have gone round, promis-
kiss, and satisfied the other passengers, 1t
wouldn't do to ka1kilate upon"
''But the express messenger and the driver
were armed, !" continued Hale.
"They were armed, but not Axed, that
makes all the difference"
~ don't understand"
81 reckon you know what a duel isr'
"Yes.n
aWell, the chances agin US was about the
same as you'd have ef You was put ur agin
another chap who was allowed to draw a
bead on you, and the signal TO fire was your
drawin' your weapon You may be a
stranger to this sort o thing, and p'r'aps ycu
never fought duel, but even then you
wouldn't go foolin' your life away on any
such chances"
Something in the mans manner, as In q
certain sly amusement the other passengers
appeared to extract from the conversation,
impressed Hale, already beginning to be con-
scious of the ludicrous insuff1ciency Of his own
grievance beside that of his interlocutor.
@Then you mean to say this thing is In
evitable," said he bitterly, but less aggres-
sively.
4Ez long ez they hunt you; when YOU hunt
them you've got the advantage, allus pro-
vided you know how to get at them ez we'll
as they know how to get at you. This yer
coach is bound to go regular, and on certain
days. They amt. By the time the sheriff
gets out his posse they've skedaddled, and the
leader, like as not, is takin' his quiet cocktail
at the Bank Exchange. or mebbe losin' his
earnings to the sheriff over draw poker in
Sacramento You see you can't prove any
thing agin them unless you take them ON the
Hy.' 1t may be part Of joaquin Muristta's
band, though wouldn't swear to it"
aThe leader might have been Gentleman
George, from up country" interposed pas
senger. 4He seemed to throw in a few fancy
touches, particlerly in that Good night
Sorter chucked little sentiment in It
Didn't seem to be the same thing ez Git, yer
d-d suckers on the other line"
"Whoever be was be knew the road and
the men who travelled on 1t. Like ez not he
went over the line beside the driver on the
box on the down trip, and took stock Of
everything. He even knew I had those
greenbacks, though they were handed to me
in the bank at Sacramento. He must have
been hangln' round there"
For some moments Hale remained silent.
He was a civic-bred man, with an intense love
Of law and order; the kind Of man who Is the
first to take that law and order into his own
bande when he does not find It existing to
please him. He had Bostonian's respect for
respectability, tradition and propriety, but
was willing to face irregularity and impro-
priety to create order elsewhere He wan
fond Of nature with these limitations, never
quite trusting her unguidsd instincts, and
finding her as an instructress greatly fn-
ferior to Harvard university, though posi-
bly, not to Cornell With dauntless enter
prise and energy he had built and stocked 9
charming cottage farm In nook in the
sierras, whence he opposed, like the lesser
Englishman that he was, his own tastes to
those Of the alien west. In the present in
stance be felt it incumbent upon him not
only to assert his principles, but to act upon
them with his usual energy. How far he
was impelled by the half contemptuous
passiveness Of his companions it would be
difficult to say.
"What Is to prevent the pursuit Of them at
once1" he asked suddenly. ave are a few
miles from the station, where horses can be
procured
"Who's to do itm replied the other lazily.
1.-THE stage company will lodge tho complaint
with the authorities, but it will take two days
to get the county officers out, and it's nobody
else's funeral"
II will go for one," said Hale quietly. ~
have horse waiting for me at the station,
and can start at once"
There was an instant Of silence. The stage
coach had left the obscurity of the forest, and
by the stronger light Hale could perceive that
his companion was examining him with two
colorless, lazy eyes. Presently he said, meet
ing Hale's clear glance, but rather as II yield
ing to a careless reflection;
at might be done with four men. We
oughter raise one man at the station" He
paused. ~ don't know ez I'd mind taking a
hand myself" he added, stretching out bis
legs with slight yawn.
"Ye can count me in, II you're goin', kernel
reckon I'm talkin' to Kernel Clinch,n said
the passenger beside Hale with sudden alac-
rity. "T'm Rawlins, Of Frisco. Herd of ye
afore, kernel, and kinder spotted you jist
now from your talk"
To Hale's surprise the two men, after awk.
wardly and perfunctorily grasping each
others hand, entered at once into languid
conversation on the recent election at Fresno,
without the slightest further reference to the
pursuit of the robbers. 1t was not until the